The row over flying a saffron flag on a government property in Keragodu village of Mandya district reverberated in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday leading to heated argument between the members of the ruling and the Opposition parties.
While Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok referred to the flag row in a debate in the morning session of the House on motion of thanks to the Governor’s address, Agriculture Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy, who is also in charge of Mandya district, offered clarification in the afternoon session, followed by MLA Ravi Ganiga, which triggered angry reaction from the Opposition members.
Mr. Ravi alleged that local leaders of the BJP and the JD(S) had triggered the flag controversy by misleading their party bosses. This had resulted in a district like Mandya, known for co-existence, peace, and secularism, catching communal fire.
The Opposition members not only launched a counter-attack, but also took exception to the member being allowed to make a clarification. Mr. Ravi’s allegation that BJP members from two other districts had come all the way to Mandya to participate in the protest irritated BJP members from coastal districts.
Earlier, Mr. Cheluvarayaswamy made it clear that the Keragodu village panchayat had given permission to the local cultural trust to hoist only the national or Karnataka flag. He denied as false the claims of the Opposition that no such conditions had been imposed on hoisting of flag by the village panchayat. He stated that the villagers themselves had removed the saffron flag and hoisted the national flag on January 26. But on the same evening, they had replaced the national flag with the saffron flag, he alleged. Hence, the district administration had intervened. Mr. Ashok would have to own up responsibility for the protest and the damage to public property on the occasion as he rushed to the spot to spearhead the protest, he said.
